Mott, Sir Nevill

Mott, Sir Nevill, 1905–96, British physicist. A professor at the Univ. of Bristol (1933–54) and the Univ. of Cambridge (1954–71), Mott won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for a lifetime of research into the magnetic and electrical properties of noncrystalline solids. He shared the award with P. W. Anderson and J. H. Van Vleck , who had pursued independent research. Mott's accomplishments include explaining theoretically the effect of light on a photographic emulsion and outlining the transition of substances from metallic to nonmetallic states. He wrote A Life in Science (1995).